Description: The T-72 is a three-man crew main battle tank (MBT) developed for the Soviet Union's Red Army to counter the western-made M60, AMX-30, Chieftain and Leopard 1 MBTs. The T-72M variant was widely exported to the Warsaw Pact and non-Soviet countries being built under license in Poland, Czechoslovakia, India and the former Yugoslavia (M84). The T-72 is equipped with the 2A46/D-81T and/or 2A46M/D-81TM 125mm smoothbore gun fed by a turret-mounted automatic ammunition load system. T-72's 2A46M main gun is also capable of firing anti-tank missiles which gives an outstanding superiority over western tanks such as the M-60 and Leopard 1 outfitted with 105mm cannons. Approximately 25,000 T-72s were produced for the Soviet Union and export customers all over the world starting in 1971. It was used against the M1 Abrams by the Iraqis during the Gulf War in 1991 and 12 years later during operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. In both cases it performed poorly in front of highly sophisticated heavy-armor M1A1/A2 Abrams. Overall, the T-72 by the the number of units produced is the most important tank in the post-Cold War era.

The T-72M was the export version of the Red Army's T-72A tank without the composite armor and the fire control system. It was also built in Poland, the now extinct Czechoslovakia, and the former Yugoslavia for their local markets and export customers. The PT-91 and PT-91M are versions produced in Poland. The M84 was produced in the former Yugoslavia. The TRA-125 is a version produced in Romania. The T-72M1, T-72M1M, T-72M1V, T-72M1K and T-72MP are upgraded variants with improved armor incorporating composite armor plates and Kontakt-1 Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA). T-72M1M produced by the Soviet Union was similar in terms of performance to the Red Army's T-72B tank. The armament options remain basically the same than previous T-72 models including the D-81T/2A46 125mm cannon, the 12.7mm roof-mounted gun and the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Overall the T-72Ms are of inferior quality compared with Soviet T-72s. These tanks are powered by a V-46 diesel engine developing 840-hp. The T-72M along with the Red Army's T-72A was introduced in 1979. In the 2010s both tanks are deemed obsolete.